At some point this year or 2018, getting the car tuned is going to become Next Mod. Thinking about this, I have a pretty basic question.

Tuning results are almost always discussed in terms of how much increased horsepower came from the tune. And I get that... it's a direct and simple benchmark. Big numbers are bragging rights, yaddah yaddah. But for me, the fun in modding my car isn't chasing peak horsepower, it's how the car feels as I drive it around town. Accelerating out of a curve in a back-road on the way to my kid's soccer game, or circling through a highway on-ramp... this is where I enjoy my car. Not screaming into redline, playing chicken with the rev-limiter. I get why that's a rush and a challenge for straight-line 10th-of-a-second goals, but that's not me.

So when tuning the car, is there flexibility in the process to focus on gains under the curve, in the mid-range where daily drivers live? If so, between UpRev and EcuTek, does one support this better than the other?

If this is too lame of a question, by all means set me right.

 

I'm with you Rochester! The area under the curve is what's important to me as well. Thank you for asking the question and I'm looking forward to reading the responses!

 

Roch, I don't think I will be able to provide much information, so take this with a grain of salt, more experienced people will have to come in and correct me. I think the only things you would be able to do for a NA engine would fiddle with the ignition tables and the VVEL. Of those 2, I think ECUTek can do both and Uprev can only do ignition tables well.

 

Here's a more succinct version of my question:

When getting dyno-tuned at a shop with either UpRev or EcuTek, does the tuner have the means to maximize mid-range by sacrificing peak hp? And if so, which software is more flexible to that goal?

 

Hey John,

Either way the biggest gains will be in the mid range. That's were the "Stock" tune struggles.
Point, when I was bolted( No Cats) I only made like a peak 4 WHP after my tune but I pick up like 20 WHP under the curve. The tune address the under the curve area, and I strongly suggest using ECUTEK and Seb @ SpecialtyZ. His throttle hi-jack will transform the car!

You are older like me and my only comparison to the hi-jack was my old Z28( 70).He'll make the car drive like its throttle by cable and not electric! You'll love it! Prlomise

 

Bingo. That's the feedback I was looking for.

That name is starting to attain mythic proportions. He must be doing something right. Thing is, I'm just looking to spend a day at a dyno tuning shop, and drive home. I genuinely have no interest in tinkering on my own afterwards, whipping out the laptop, etc. Plus, I'm not planning on any mods that would affect the tune after the fact.

The two places I'm considering are:

Kaizen Tuning.
I've got a close friend not 20 miles away from their location, so that would be a totally acceptable road-trip from Western NY to Boston Mass. They seem to have a stellar reputation, and licensed to work with both UpRev and EcuTek.

Street Tuned Motorsports.
This speed shop seems to be heroes to the EVO community, and expect to come online with UpRev for the G/Z sometime this year. The best thing about them is they're local.

 

You can always rent a dyno I did that for mine with him. I just paid to use their dyno and Seb remote tuned me that morning we talked on the phone the whole time. you'll need laptop for this tho to email the logs back and load his updates

If you like you car do not use kaizentuning. STAY AWAY

I wouldn't use anyone other than Seb. IMO he's tune and service is worth every penny

 

That's just not going to happen.


Where the heck did that come from? I've been eyeballing Kaizen for a long time, and yours is the very first negative comment I've seen. I would think since you're right down the road, you'd have looked them up.

So what gives?

 

I did use them" one car", and they are close, 25 mins. let just say there are reasons I went with a remote tune with Seb and he's in CA.

 

I'd look up R/T tuning Vince is really good to and they are in PA not sure how far from you but closer than come here to MA.

 

I think I posted this at some point in the past, but seems appropriate.

Some years back I made some mods to my bike - slip on exhaust, bmc air filter (similar to k&n), and removal of secondary throttle plates in the throttle bodies (this bike had one for each cylinder).

Due to logistics reasons I couldn't get a factory baseline dyno run (had to ride some 200 miles to get to the tuner!). So the baseline in the pic below is without any tuning but with the air filter and slip on exhaust installed.

After a number of runs and changes, the final result is achieved. The ride back was..... interesting to say the least. Biggest change was throttle response at the low end where almost 15 ft lb of torque was gained. Contributing factor was removal of the secondary restriction plates. Apparently kawasaki was concerned that riders wouldn't be able to control the bike with such large torque available at the low end. Both the zx14 and my bike (zg1400/gtr1400 concourse 1400) come with this restriction. About the only negative is you can't snap the throttle as it'll bog slightly. Throttle had to be rolled on/applied progressively.

https://i.imgur.com/rOaFiVG.jpg

With the amount of power this thing had and the gearing, 5K rpm in 6th gear was about 90 mph. Putting around town was very comfortable at 3-3500. Rarely did it see over 6K. There was no need.

 

320 miles vs. 380 miles, so yeah, about 1 hour closer... but still a heck of a road trip.

Still, putting R/T Tuning on my list.

There are 6 UpRev shops in Toronto. And one in Buffalo, although I remember scratching the Buffalo shop right off my list some time ago after reading crap about them.

2 in Akron, Ohio as well. Akron, of all places. LOL. 280 miles.

 

Where in Akron?

 

Seb@ speciality z is recommended by everyone on this forum and the 370z forums. When you have a highly recommended tuner (among the vq37 crowd)why do you insist on using someone else?

 

He sure does come highly recommended, that's clear. Seems that he's got skills and a reputation for stellar service. However, at its greatest length, the UAE is only 400 miles, so I get why you'd think I could just drop in on this guy Seb.

Seriously, there are like 140 tuner shops in North America liscensed with UpRev, and you want to berate me for not choosing the guy I would have to remote tune at a shop that's 2,600 miles away?

LOL